Later That Day
by Juicy Juice81
Summary: Last time on IGPX...Team Satomi pulled together and won their 2nd IG1 Championship against Team White Snow! Meanwhile, Takeshi finally realized just how important Liz means to him. Seems like everything is heading in the right direction....right?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER:** I DO NOT OWN IGPX OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS, NOR DO I OWN/WORK FOR PRODUCTION I.G. OR CARTOON NETWORK. 'GO FOR IT' IS PERFORMED BY THE GROUP, GRAN RODEO, OF WHOM I DON'T OWN/WORK FOR….THE FOLLOWING IS PURELY A FANFIC STORY  
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Ok, with that said, this is my very first fanfic story so I'm feeling a little nervous about this. I felt like writing one about IGPX after I saw the show's awesome finale. Without being too brutal, you can leave comments about it. Oh, the first sentence was from a quote made by Miss Satomi and the crew in episode 26 of IGPX.  
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**_Previously On IGPX…._**

_"Alright guys, we've had a great season and next years is going to be even better! Here's to us! Come on, Team Satomi! Let's Win!" " HO! HO! HOOO!"_

**_Next Episode: Later That Day…._**

"Alright, let's eat!" Liz cried out, as she clapped her hands together. Everyone laughed and agreed in unison. Liz took a plate and grabbed everything she saw in site. Amy sighed as the realization of their 2nd win kicked in. She hugged Luca and thanked him for helping all of them, especially for being her very best friend. He purred as she stroked his fur. Miss Satomi, Andre and Mark were off in their little world talking about the new upgrades for the mechs and how they must boost their defense and offense for the next season. "You know all the teams will be gunning it for us," Andre said. Miss Satomi nodded in agreement, "Yes, but our team will come together and pull through like always." "I can't wait to get my hands on the mechs later. The crew and I already have big plans for them…new devices and an even better security system," said Mark with enthusiasm. Miss Satomi smiled, "That's great!"

"WOW! It must be awesome having Takeshi as a brother," Johnny was telling Yuri. A smiled appeared on her face, but she quickly shook it off, "Yeah, right. Try living with him." Jesse was busy bringing out fresh refreshments while humming to this new song that got stuck in her head, 'Go For It!'. A new group wrote the song about the IGPX and she was in love with them.

Liz and Takeshi were sitting near the windows. Both blushing every time they made eye contact. "Um, sorry man, for flipping you like that," Liz said looking down, "The whole calling me 'Baby' thing, got to me." Takeshi looked up from his plate and smiled mischievously, "I knew it would." Liz smiled back and they both blushed again. "Well, Liz, I guess this means that we're official now," Takeshi said, smiling. "Hey, wait a minute, cowboy, we still haven't gone out on our 1st date yet," Liz responded. "OK, well, how about after we leave here, we go out to dinner or something, maybe even take a nice little stroll through the park, just the two of us. And then you can teach me how to block that move you did on me." "Sounds like a plan to me," Liz said. They again made eye contact, blushed, but this time, Takeshi put his hand over hers. Liz's cheeks became bright red and out of instinct, yelled back at him, "NO NEED TO BECOME A TOTAL SPAZ, TAKESHI!" His eyes widened while the others looked at them. In the back, Amy started giggling while Jesse whispered to her, "Liz is gonna have to get used to this." Feeling stupid, Liz quickly apologized to Takeshi, but he just started laughing and said, "No worries, it's cool."

As the day wore on, everyone at the party continued to celebrate. They talked about their favorite moments and, although cheesy, that without teamwork, none of them would be here right now celebrating their 2nd IGPX championship win. Mark's crew started singing on the karaoke machine while Yuri, Jesse and Amy wanted Liz to tell them everything that happened on the rooftop with Takeshi. Johhnny was excitedly talking to Andre about how he wants to become a future IGPX pilot; Andre was giving him pointers here and there. Miss Satomi and Takeshi were leaning against the wall talking about how the sponsors wanted to remain onboard. Takeshi then turned toward her, "Miss Satomi, I'm sorry about before." "Before...?" she asked, unaware of what he meant. "My attitude towards the team. I acted like a total jerk. I always believed that I didn't need anyone's help; that it was all about me. Slowly, I started realizing that I was seriously wrong. We ALL made it here together. Oh, and Miss Satomi, thanks for not giving up on us." "Th...Thank You, Takeshi," she said, smiling, trying to hold back tears. Liz overheard their conversation. She smiled as she stared at Takeshi. Her appreciation for him grew even more. And then, it dawned on her! Tonight, her and Takeshi will be going out on their first date! What the hell was she going to wear? Why was she so nervous? Liz doesn't get nervous over trivial things. Ever since she started modeling, she has received hundreds of new clothing from the fashion industry, but, no, that's not why she was nervous. Tonight, Liz Ricarro and Takeshi Jin will be going out on their first date. Not an outing with a friend...but, an actual DATE with a guy whom she always cared deeply for! A guy whom she followed around while he was on a date with Fantine...wait, that made her feel like a stalker. In any case, she was nervous and excited at the same time! She needed a breather. As she was leaving the room, Takeshi spotted her and followed her out. "Are you alright, Liz?" he sounded concerned. "Yeah, too much excitement in there, I guess," she said. "Tell me about it. The crew seems to really like Johnny though. I think Miss Satomi wants to give him a tour around Satomi headquarters," he responded. They were silent for awhile. Each of them thinking about the day before...the race...White Snow...the future. Takeshi then turned his head and stared at Liz, smiling. From the corner of her eye, she could see him staring. Her cheeks became red again. "Geez, Takeshi, stop staring at me like that!" she barked at him, but she met his gaze and, smiling, they started to move closer towards one another when Liz spotted a pretty blonde in the distance. Her eyes widened as she realized who it was...

_OK...end of Chapter 1. I'm still coming up with ideas for the next few chapters. I'm trying to stick close to the characters actual characteristics as much as possible. Thanks for reading! _


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER:** Again, I do not own/work for Production I.G. OR CARTOON NETWORK. I DO NOT OWN IGPX OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.  
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**CHAPTER 2:**

"…..Fantine?" Liz whispered.

"Huh," Takeshi asked, not hearing whose name she just mentioned.

"Turn around," she said.

Takeshi narrowed his eyes at her.

"No way, Liz! I'm not falling for that trick…you might flip me again," Takeshi said chuckling.

"I'm being serious. Turn around," Liz said, trying not to sound too frustrated.

Cautiously, Takeshi turned around, not wanting to let his guard down, but then he saw her. Fantine, the Forward for Team Skylark, or better known as….his ex-girlfriend, was standing by the entrance doors down the hallway. He didn't know how to react. Liz was uncomfortable. Fantine just stared at them, silently. Liz was the one who broke the silence.

She sighed, "Hmmm…um…I-I think I'll just head back to the party then."

Takeshi turned back towards her, took her hand and said, "Liz, it's ok."

"I only came down here to congratulate you. That was a very impressive race. I knew you all had it in you," Fantine said in her gentle French accent.

"Thanks," Takeshi and Liz both replied.

"And judging by the way you were both standing a minute ago, I am certain that Takeshi finally understood what I meant that day," Fantine said with a smile.

Takeshi's eyes widened as he remembered the day Fantine broke up with him. Liz just looked puzzled.

It was before the race between Team Satomi and Team Skylark and something had been bothering Fantine. She felt as if there was a huge gap between them; Takeshi always felt so distant. She knew part of the reason was because they lost communication. The only real thing they had in common was the IGPX. Another reason….was Liz Ricarro. Deep inside, since she spotted Liz following her and Takeshi on one of their dates, Fantine came to the conclusion that either Liz was worried that Fantine was going to take Takeshi away from the rest of the team, or…Liz was keeping "something" from Takeshi. Fantine knew it was the latter. So, she took it upon herself to bow out of the relationship. It was done with class; no bickering and no confrontations. She couldn't say that it didn't hurt, but she knew it was the right thing to do. Takeshi didn't understand of course, of her decision to end it, but eventually, Fantine thought, he would come to terms with it. Apparently, after seeing them together like this, he has.

"You take care of her, Takeshi," Fantine said gently.

"I can take care of myself," Liz snapped back.

Takeshi gave her a stern look, "Liz, she's trying to be nice. Besides, she knew my feelings for you before _I_ knew my feelings for you."

"No, Takeshi, it's alright. Liz, I really am here to congratulate the team. I bumped into Miss Satomi earlier and she said that I was more than welcome to come. I was only going to do a quick Hi and Bye, when I saw the two of you out here," Fantine replied.

Liz felt bad for snapping at her like that._ "I mean, it's never a good situation when you see a person's ex, especially when you are_ _currently dating that person," _Liz thought to herself as she, unknowingly, squeezed Takeshi's hand. Takeshi looked down and smiled at her. Liz blushed when she realized what she was doing.

Fantine said with a delicate smile, "How lovely."

Both Takeshi and Liz blushed.

"Well, I suppose I should get going," Fantine added.

"Fantine, you can stay," Liz answered back.

"Thank You, Liz, but my team and I must start preparing for next year."

"Yeah, but the season just ended. It's time to relax _before_ all of us have to go back to training," Liz continued, "I do understand where you're coming from, but we've all had a very odd yet an exciting season, and we should all just _relax_ for once."

Fantine looked at her, surprised at Liz's reaction.

"I know, but our team was bumped to the bottom. We must start training both physically and mentally in order to regain control."

Takeshi and Liz respected that. She was about to leave when Takeshi called out to her; she turned around.

"Fantine, thanks….for, you know…," he said as he raised the hand that was holding Liz's hand.

Fantine smiled back, "My naïve Takeshi, don't thank me for that. I guess I knew that it was bound to happen. It was only a matter of time before _you_ made it happen."

Takeshi grinned. Liz was confused more than ever.

"Adieu," Fantine said as she left, but added, "Don't think Team Skylark won't put up a fight next season!"

Takeshi responded, " We never expected anything less."

Alone again, Liz was wondering what Fantine meant by, '..._Takeshi finally understood what I meant that day.'_

Grinning, Takeshi turned around to face Liz.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

He continued gazing at her when Liz looked up at him again.

"Didn't I say for you not to stare at me like that?"

"You did," he continued, "but I guess I still haven't learned to listen to my fellow teammates."

They both laughed as he slowly pulled her closer to him. Both of their hearts started pounding as he placed one hand under her chin and the other holding her hand.

Liz could feel her cheeks burning, _"I'm the one who kissed him on the rooftop. Why the hell am I nervous again?"_ she thought_, "Maybe because of the way he's doing it…..."_

_"Ok, Takeshi,"_ he thought, _"Don't ruin this! You kissed her on the rooftop. It's cool."_

Takeshi continued to pull her closer...they heard each other's breathing...their lips were only inches apart……..

"HEY GUYS!" Jesse cried out to them.

Startled, they both jumped up, moving away from each other. Liz thought that her cheeks were going to explode. Takeshi started stroking the back of his hair.

"S-Sorry," Jesse said sounding embarrassed when she realized what she just interrupted.

"Not a problem," Takeshi said, "We were, uh...uh…Liz?"

Liz tried to explain, "Uh….we were just….I mean, I-I had something in my eye and Takeshi was just…."

"Just trying to _kiss_ it away," Jesse interrupted, beaming from ear to ear.

"Right!" Takeshi and Liz said in unison, "……No, wait…"

"Guys, give me some credit, will you. Miss Satomi wants a group picture of all of us."

"We'll be right in," Liz said.

Jesse was still beaming when she walked back into the room and before the door closed, they could hear her starting to tell the others what had just happened.

Takeshi was already heading for the door, when Liz stopped him.

"I'm sure we'll have _plenty_ of opportunities to make up for it."

She walked back in after playfully punching him in the arm.

_"Well, Liz, you are known to be direct,"_ she thought to herself.

Takeshi just stared at her while the door closed behind her. He put his hands in his pockets and walked back into the room, with a huge smile on his face…...

_That's it for chapter 2. I know the ending of this chapter sounds like, well, the ending of the story, but it's not. I was trying not to change Liz's personality (making her into this girly-girl----nothing wrong with that, it's just not Liz's nature in the show). Stay tuned for Chapter 3 : )_


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own/work for Production I.G. OR CARTOON NETWORK, Nor do I OWN IGPX OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.  
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**Chapter 3:**

"I think I'm gonna take off," Andrei said, after they took several group photos. "I promised my family that I was going to take them out tonight. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Us too," Mark said, waving a hand at his crew, "We have a lot of work to do with the upgrades."

"Yeah!" said the 3 mechanics in unison.

Miss Satomi and the others watched as the 4 men said their good byes and left. Amy was helping Jesse clean the plates and tables, while Luca slept on one of the chairs. Miss Satomi had a meeting with another possible sponsor, High Wire, a new gaming company, whose stock shares went thru the roof in just 2 weeks.

Before she left, she gave them a thumbs up and said, "I really am _proud _of you guys!"

Meanwhile, Johnny was having the time of his life! He couldn't wait to tell his friends that Miss Satomi invited him for a tour of Satomi Headquarters tomorrow. Yuri was yelling at Takeshi for spilling some punch on her shirt. Liz was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, thinking. She was _proud_ of herself…..of _all_ of them. They managed to _work together_ and get through this hectic season. She had a flashback of their first match against Team White Snow; when Amy was seriously injured and had to be hospitalized. Their coach, Andrei, a.k.a The Rocket, took over as Midfielder. She looked over at Amy, who was now picking up Luca and petting him.

"_She may not look it, but Amy is a very tough pilot,"_ she thought.

Her comeback was pretty damn amazing! River was itching to take her out, but with quick thinking, her and Luca recovered and helped Team Satomi defeat Team Sledge Mama. Much to the dismay of Sledge Mama's captain, Yamma. Liz then looked over at Takeshi, who was trying to calm his sister down. Man, did he frustrate Liz in the beginning! He only cared about himself; he wanted to be the best on _his own_. Her and Takeshi were always butting heads. She liked it though; always got her fired up, but deep down inside she really did care for him. No way was she going to admit, in the beginning, that Takeshi made her feel a _certain_ way….it was embarrassing…it was too girly-girl like…it was so not like her!

"Too much pride, I guess," she accidentally said out loud.

The young group looked at her, confused.

"WHAT!" she yelled, after realizing she was thinking out loud.

They just shrugged their shoulders. Takeshi gave up on his sister, who was now buttoning up her jacket to cover up the stain, and walked up to Liz.

"You ok?" he asked as he stood next to her.

Liz sighed, "Hmmm, yeah. Thinking about the season."

"Brutal, but awesome," Takeshi added.

Neither of them said a word for several minutes; they just stood there watching the others. Takeshi glanced over at her a couple times, but never spoke. Then, unexpectedly, he quickly felt Liz's hand wrapping around his own. He looked down and then at her. He could see her cheeks becoming a little red, but she continued looking at the others, not saying a word. Takeshi grinned, and there they stood hand-in-hand, leaning against the wall, not saying anything. Jesse spotted the two of them there and remembered how she walked in on them just when they were about to kiss. She started beaming again. She nudged Amy on her side so she could have a look at them. Amy giggled.

"I think we have our first fan club," Takeshi whispered to Liz.

She saw the girls looking away the minute Liz saw them.

"Maybe now is a good time to call it a day here," she said, feeling as if a million people were watching them right now.

"Maybe," Takeshi said.

"Guys, we're leaving," Liz said to the remaining group.

Gotta get ready for tonight, huh?" Jesse said with a smirk on her face.

Both of them blushed.

"Don't do anything that I wouldn't do," Yuri said to them.

"Which is what? Nothing?" Takeshi answered back.

Yuri just pouted and yelled, "DON'T THINK I'M GOING TO FORGET WHAT YOU DID TO MY SHIRT! YOU OWE ME!"

"You know where I live," Takeshi said, trying to sound serious, "Send me a bill or something."

And with that, both he and Liz took off after waving good bye to everyone.

"How do you think it's going to turn out, "Amy asked the others.

They shrugged their shoulders.

"With those two," Jesse said, "who knows."

Out in the hallway, Liz and Takeshi found themselves alone again. On the outside, they both looked cool and collected, but on the inside, they were both nervously anticipating their very first date…._TOGETHER!_

"So….what did you want to do first?" he asked her.

Liz thought about it for a few minutes, but it wasn't until she felt the cool crisp air outside Satomi Headquarters, that she decided that a nice quiet walk in the park would do just fine.

"Wanna go for a walk?" she asked him.

Takeshi nodded his head, "That's fine. There's a hot dog stand in the park; I'm craving for a hot dog or two."

"You're still hungry? Geez, Takeshi, you can be a real pig sometimes," Liz said.

"You should talk," he said, "Amy told me that you ordered everything on the menu down at the Chinese restaurant and then ordered seconds."

Liz's face turned red. _"Why did Amy have to tell him that?"_ she thought to herself.

"Hey, we had a long day! I was hungry…I couldn't help myself," she answered.

"Oink oink," Takeshi playfully said to her.

"Shut up!" she yelled at him.

"Guess old habits die hard," he said.

Both of them stopped walking, stared at one another…… and started laughing.

The trees around them started rustling from the cool breeze. Liz accidentally left her jacket back at the building and was feeling a little chilly. Takeshi saw her rubbing her arms. Without thinking about it, he took his jacket off and put it around her.  
"What are you doing?" she asked him after the jacket was placed around her.

"Oh, well, you looked cold, so I thought I would offer you my jacket."

"I'm not some damsel in distress, Takeshi. I'm fine," she answered back.

"Sorry, Liz. I thought I was helping," he said as he was about to take his jacket back.

"Now what are you doing?" she asked him.

"You told me that you were fine," he said, sounding confused.

"Well……you already offered it to me. You can't just take it back! It's ok...really," she said, looking down.

Takeshi looked at her, "_Yup, I still have ALOT to learn about girls, but I guess_ _Liz isn't used to this kind of attention"_ he thought.

"Sorry again, Liz. I just…….."

"No, Takeshi...I'm the one who should be sorry," she interrupted, "I grew up acting a certain way, and this right now is just something that I should get used to, that's all."

Takeshi slowly turned her to face him. They both blushed when they made eye contact.

"Liz, I like you just the way you are. I asked you out, didn't I?"

"I know, but…."

"But nothing," he said, "Continue acting like yourself, Liz. That's all I want."

Liz felt a deeper appreciation for him, but out of curiosity, she asked, "How would you describe me?"

Takeshi was taken aback by her question. He thought about it for a moment.

"Where to begin……." he began, looking away, "Loud, obnoxious, bossy……. did I mention loud?"

He looked over at Liz. Her mouth was hanging open. She looked like she was about to explode.

"Liz, relax. I'm just having a little fun with you."

Liz loosened up a little.

"That's the popular opinion about you from the rest of the team," he added, smiling.

"Oh……...WHAT!" she yelled.

Takeshi started laughing. Liz slapped him on the back as hard as she could. He fell and luckily, landed on a pile of leaves. This time it was Liz who was laughing. She extended her hand out to help him up, but he ended up pulling her down towards the leaves.

"Guess, you should learn to block _my_ moves," he said.

"I guess so."

They sat there, on the leaves, gazing at one another.

Come on, let's go find your hot dog stand," Liz said.

They both got up, wiped some leaves off of them, and headed for the stand. When they got there, Takeshi ordered 2 hot dogs; one for Liz and one for himself. They mostly talked about the IGPX and the way Cunningham took off before Team Satomi were to go up on stage to accept their trophy.

"I respect the guy and all," Liz was saying, "but I think he's a little too obsessed with it."

"Maybe, but you have to admit that he is a damn good pilot. It's never a boring race with Team Velshtein," Takeshi said.

They talked for what seemed like an eternity. Liz spotted a little chipmunk next to the park bench where they were sitting. Liz isn't a big animal lover, but she started to get used to Luca being around them alot. She dropped a small piece of her hot dog on the ground so that the chipmunk could have it. Takeshi watched her; seeing Liz's tender side. A leaf from a nearby tree landed on her head. Takeshi gently removed it; Liz felt his hand and looked over at him. They both hesitated as they looked at each other. They closed their eyes and began to slowly move closer to one another, when Takeshi heard Liz laughing. He opened his eyes and saw Liz staring at his head.

"What?" he asked.

"That...chip...he's sitting...the chip...on your _head_!" she said laughing.

He felt something jump off of him as he and Liz were quickly interrupted by a group of fans asking for their autographs and wanting their pictures to be taken.

_"I forgot that we are pretty recognizable here,"_ Liz thought.

"Uh, oh," she heard Takeshi say.

She followed his gaze and spotted what was making him react like that; 2 reporters were heading in their direction! Not now! Not the paparazzi! Personally, Liz wanted to take them out, but she knew that wasn't the wisest thing to do at this point. Takeshi quickly grabbed Liz's hand and they took off running in the opposite direction.

"He's HOLDING her hand!" one of the fans shouted.

_"Thanks!" _Liz thought sarcastically.

Hearing that, the reporters were more determined to catch up to the alleged_ couple._

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_End of Chapter 3. Hope you guys are liking it. Stay tuned for Chapter 4 : )_


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: Don't Own/Work for Production I.G. , Cartoon Network or IGPX.**  
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**CHAPTER 4:**

"Andrei, are you alright?" his wife, Jane asked when he stopped at a green light.

"I'm fine, but they're not," he said, pointing to his left.

Jane looked in the direction he was pointing to and her delicate facial features tensed up as she saw a small group of people running out of the park….chasing two others. She squinted her eyes to try and make out the two.

"Honey, is that…..?"

"Yup," Andrei answered.

"….And is that…..?

"Yup," he answered again.

"But, why are they…..?"

"Well……can't you tell they're on a date?" he asked, sounding unfazed by what he was seeing.

Takeshi and Liz were heading in their direction, when Takeshi spotted Andrei with his family. A look on Takeshi's face indicated that they needed help. Andrei sighed and waved at him. He waited until the two of them passed in front of his car. Then he looked back to his left and waited for the others to get closer to his vehicle. When they were already out in the street, nearing his car to pass, Andrei drove through the intersection, while the light was red, making the group of "followers" stop dead in their tracks. He looked in his rear view mirror and he saw a couple of people giving him the finger; he continued driving as if nothing happened. Jane and their daughter, Sage, were speechless.

_"Hope that gave the kids enough time to escape."_ he thought.

Andrei was then taken by surprise when his daughter leaned forward and gave him a quick hug. "What was that for?"

"I don't know. Just felt like it. Believe it or not, Dad, I really did _miss_ you."

Andrei started pulling over to the side of the road. He turned around and faced his daughter, who had a look of confusion on her face. Andrei was thinking of something to say, but he wasn't used to this kind of thing.

_"I haven't really been there for her or Jane,"_ he thought, _"but I'm damn sure that I'll try my hardest to make it up to them."_

As if knowing what he was thinking about, Jane leaned over, and kissed him gently on his cheek.

"Honey, we know how you feel."

Andrei looked back at her grinned. He turned towards the steering wheel, put the car in drive and took off.

_"Ok, Rocket, tonight is Family Night,"_ he thought.  
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"Takeshi….I…think….we lost them," Liz was saying while trying to catch her breath.

They both looked back only to find regular people going on with their business. Takeshi sat down on a nearby wall.

"Sorry, Liz."

"Now what are you apologizing for?" she asked.

"That _marathon_ we were running in. Didn't you notice?"

Liz sat next to him.

"Are you kidding me? Dude, that was awesome!"

"Huh!"

"Didn't that get your juices flowing? Your adrenaline running?" she answered back, smiling.

Takeshi stared at her, not knowing what to say, but relieved that she wasn't upset.  
They sat there for a few minutes, trying to catch their breath while looking to see if the reporters were around.

"Liz?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why didn't you want Yuri to tell me that you were the one who gave that puzzle?"

Liz blushed and at first, didn't know what to say. She was quiet for a few seconds.

"I don't know."

"Come on, Liz. You can tell. …."

"Takeshi, I don't know."

"Ok, you don't have to tell me if you don't want."

"I just wanted to give it to you, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it," she said, "it's just a stupid puzzle, anyway."

"Yeah, it was," he answered.

"WHAT!"

"BUT, I never gave up on it," he said quickly, "I was determined to solve it and I did. Looking back, I guess it did help me get my mind off of things. And last night, when I connected the pieces together again, I started thinking about.…..you."

Liz looked up and found him staring back at her. Takeshi placed his hand under her chin to move her face towards him again.

"You know, maybe I can get used to this," she said smiling.

"I hope so," he whispered back.

**CRASH!**

They both jumped up to find the source of the noise...

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OK, now I'm really going to have to take a break from this. I really need to catch up on my schoolwork. I hope you like my latest chapter. Chapter 5 will be up soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I don't work/own IGPX, Production I.G. or Cartoon Network.  
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**CHAPTER 5:**

Amy arrived to an empty house, as usual.

"Luca, I'm going to take a quick shower," she said while putting him down.

As she was passing by a small table in the hallway, she spotted a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a note addressed to her:

_'Hi, Honey, _

_Hope your little celebration went well. Your mother and I were invited to a dinner party with some very important people and we will be home late, so don't wait up. _

_Love, Dad_

Amy folded the note and left it on the table. She sighed as she headed to her bedroom, carrying the flowers. Twenty minutes later, she came out of her bathroom and saw Luca waiting for her on her bed. She happily picked him up and twirled him around the room. She walked over to her window and looked out, still holding Luca in her arms.

"I wonder how Takeshi and Liz are doing?"

Amy giggled as Luca meowed back in response.

"I should call Jesse and ask how the meeting went. It would be really great, not just for our team, but for the race itself, if we get another sponsor," she said cheerfully.

Amy placed Luca back on the bed and called Jesse. The phone rang a few times before Jesse finally picked up.

"Hello?" she heard Jesse asking.

"Hi, Jesse, it's Amy. Any word yet from Miss Satomi?"

"No, not yet. I've been in there a few times to bring them coffee, but they stopped talking every time I walked in."

"You think everything is alright?" Amy asked her, sounding a bit concerned.

"I'm sure everything's OK," Jesse said, trying to sound reassuring, "but we still have our old sponsors, and you and the others did great this year! People are finally noticing Team Satomi!"

Amy felt a little better, but thought to herself, _"Still, it would be nice to have another company supporting us."_

"OH….! I sent in one of my best spies to check up on Liz and Takeshi. I should be hearing from her soon!" Jesse said excitedly over the phone.

"Spy?" Amy asked her.

"Yup! I wanted to stay here at headquarters, but I wanted to know how their date was coming along, so….. I sent her out in the field to follow them."

A look of curiosity appeared on Amy's face……then she formed a smile.

"Who?" she asked Jesse, anxiously awaiting details.  
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"YURI! WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE!" Takeshi yelled at his little sister as she got up from off the ground, wiping dirt and some twigs off her clothes.

"Nothing, bro…just a little investigative reporting," she said, trying to sound cool about it.

"Investigative reporting, huh?" he asked, eyeing her suspiciously, "You mean _SPYING_!"

Yuri looked at him, pretending to be shocked by his comment.

"Takeshi, we weren't spying, we were just……"

"WE?" he and Liz both asked.

Yuri looked a little flushed.

"I didn't mean 'We'…..I meant 'Me'. I'm just a _little_ insulted that you would think that_ I_, Yuri, your loyal sister, would _ever_ do such a horrible thing as 'Spying' on you," she said, trying to sound innocent.

As Yuri kept defending herself, Liz thought she heard rustling coming from behind one of the nearby bushes.

"How long have you been following us?" Liz heard Takeshi asking his sister.

"Since the par.…"

"The park? Yuri, did_ you_ have anything to do with what happened to us back there?"

"What happened?" she asked.

"Yuri, don't play games with me. Did you have anything to do with those reporters finding us?" Takeshi asked, sounding frustrated.

Liz heard rustling coming from the bushes again.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Johnny and I….."

"Johnny?" Takeshi asked, interrupting her again.

Liz started chuckling, "So, is_ that_ who I'm hearing back there?"

Yuri was silent; looking a little embarrassed. Takeshi continued eyeing her suspiciously as a short, blonde-haired boy emerged from out of the bushes.

"Johnny? Don't tell me you're a part of this, _investigative reporting_, too?"

Johnny was wiping some twigs off of his clothes, not looking too happy about the situation.

"I didn't, I swear. Jesse thought that it wasn't a good idea for me to walk home alone. I told them that I could defend myself, but Yuri offered to walk me there, when she saw the two of you running out of the park. I thought you were in trouble."

"Jesse wanted me to keep her posted on you guys. I agreed to it because I wanted to know, too. Johnny didn't have a clue about this; I really was going to walk him home and then come looking for you.", Yuri added.

Takeshi was still feeling exposed, but he wasn't that mad anymore; it humored him in a way. She and Jesse didn't act this way when he and Fantine dated.

Yuri continued, "We don't know what happened at the park, or why those people were chasing you. I thought they were just fans or something."

Wanting to change subjects, Liz turned to face Johnny.

"So, um….you ready for tomorrow?"

"You bet I am! I wanna know everything about the IGPX if I want to become a great pilot like you and the others," Johnny said, beaming with excitement.

The compliment made Takeshi and Liz grin.

"THEY'RE OVER HERE!"

The four of them turned around and spotted two men heading their way. Takeshi and Liz recognized them instantly.

"It's those damn reporters again. They're really starting to piss me off," Liz said, sounding irritated.

"Now what?" Takeshi asked.

"I still say we take them down," Liz answered.

"Leave them to us!" Johnny said with a sly grin.

Yuri looked at Johnny, not knowing what his plan was.

"Huh? You sure you got this?" Liz asked him.

"It doesn't matter. They're almost here, just go!" Yuri chimed in.

Takeshi and Liz stared at one another; debating whether or not they should leave, but when they saw the flash from the one of the reporter's camera, they decided not to stay any longer. They quickly wished Johnny and Yuri good luck and took off running.

_"Maybe if they didn't want to be spotted, they should've worn a disguise or something,"_ Yuri thought to herself.

"Ok Yuri, I need you to distract them for awhile," Johnny told Yuri.

"Distract them? How?"

"I don't know, think of something. I'll be hiding in back of those bushes."

Yuri didn't know what he was up to, but she had to think of something quick; the reporters were heading her way.

"Excuse, miss, but was that Takeshi Jin you were just talking to?"

"And Liz Ricarro?" the second reporter added.

"Err….uh-huh," Yuri responded.

Both of the men started talking amongst themselves, while Yuri looked over to where Johnny was hiding. A few seconds later, both of the reporters were leaving. Getting nervous, Yuri jumped in front of them.

"Um….so, what kind of story were you writing about?"

"About Team Satomi and their latest win," one of the men answered.

"Oh, that would be a great story! Everyone loves them; I've been to almost all of their races!"

Yuri was trying her hardest to distract both of the men as she saw Johnny creeping towards the reporters.

"That's very nice, but I need to talk to them myself. My colleague, Davis, would be more than happy to ask you..…."

"Oh and that last race was so cool! The anticipation of it all; especially when Team White Snow joined their me…."

"Miss, I'm sure that you're a big fan of Team Satomi, especially of their star pilot, Takeshi Jin, and I'm sure that you would love to read anything and everything about him, but we can't start a story about _him_……if _you_ are in the way."

_"I'm not some Satomi Groupie! I'm his sister! Maybe reporters don't investigate their leads thoroughly enough,"_ she thought to herself, becoming bothered by his little comment.

Meanwhile, Johnny was getting close to the men.

_"Ok Johnny,"_ he thought, _" just rush in and..…_GRAB em' by the legs!" The latter he said out loud.

Johnny came in from behind, grabbed one of the reporter's legs and took him down, while both Yuri and the other reporter, Davis, stood in shock.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" the fallen man yelled.

"RUN!" Johnny yelled at Yuri.

Yuri was frozen, but Johnny quickly took her hand and they both ran off, while the fallen reporter was wiping some dirt off of his suit jacket, mumbling to himself.

"I think they knew them, Mr. Kanji," Davis said.

"This day keeps getting better and better," replied Mr. Kanji, still wiping dirt off of him, "Where the hell did those two go?"

Davis shrugged his shoulders while Mr. Kanji continued talking.

"Who cares about those brats? We need to catch up to Takeshi and Liz again, anyway. Can you imagine just how many people would buy the paper, just for the fact that we saw them together, holding hands?"

The two reporters continued on with their search, feeling more compelled to getting their story. Yuri and Johnny were across the street, hiding behind a parked vehicle.

"You think we gave Takeshi and Liz enough time to get out of this area?" Johnny asked Yuri.

"I hope so. Where did you learn a move like that?" Yuri asked Johnny.

"I'm taking martial arts classes. A friend of mines told me how to bring someone down; Takeshi told me the exact same thing."

"It was pretty cool. I'm sure Takeshi will be happy that someone took his advice."

"Thanks, Yuri, but I should go home now; I'm sure my parents are getting worried."

"No problem. I can see why you told Jesse that you're fine walking home alone, but I did promise her that I would walk you there anyway."

"It's fine, but Yuri, were you still going to follow them?"

"Well, I did promise that to Jesse as well," Yuri said, smiling, then thought to herself,_ "I still think that they should've worn a disguise or something." _

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_That's it for Chapter 5. Chapter 6 coming soon. : )_


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I don't work/own IGPX, Production I.G. or Cartoon Network. The following is purely fictional.  
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**CHAPTER 6:**

Exhausted from the chase, Takeshi and Liz found themselves at the IGPX race track. They both decided to head up to the top of one of the towers. Once there, they stood in silence as they leaned on the railing, overlooking the race track. After a few minutes, Liz broke the silence.

"We should've known that was going to happen."

"You know, Fantine once told me,_ 'You're a celebrity now….at least wear some sunglasses.'_ I remember thinking that she was right, but a part of me felt, I don't know, that I was being too secretive. I wasn't prepared for all of the attention we got after we made it to the IG-1. I guess I still wanted to be a normal guy who wanted to do normal things. I do want people to give us space, but I don't want to keep whatever we've got going on, a secret, either."

Liz stood there for a minute.

_"What do we have going on?"_ she thought to herself, as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Takeshi, I feel the same way too, but there comes a time when we're going to have to face people, like reporters, who aren't going to respect the whole space thing; all they want is a good story."

Takeshi took her hand from off his shoulder and held it.

"I just wanted to be alone with you, and just when it felt like we were, something or someone interrupted. I'm sorry, Liz, this is probably one of the worst dates ever."

"Didn't I tell you not to act like a total spaz? Besides," she continued, while putting both of her hands on his shoulders, "didn't I also tell you that we'll have plenty of opportunities to make up for it?"

Takeshi blushed as Liz came closer to him.

"Don't act like a total spaz yourself," Liz thought to herself, "You kissed….."

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as she felt Takeshi's lips on hers. Slowly, her eyes closed, as Takeshi put his hands on her waists. The kiss was short, but it was slow and tender; a look of satisfaction appeared on both their faces.  
"How about tomorrow night, we give our first date a second chance?" Takeshi asked.

Liz grinned and nodded her head in agreement.

"Come on," he said, as he took Liz's hand.

"Where the hell are we going now?"

"Down to the track; let's have a little one-on-one race."

"Now!"

"Why not? We don't have to start training for awhile, but….if you think you can't handle it?"

With a serious look on her face, Liz walked up to Takeshi.

"Oh, I can handle it, pretty boy. The question is, will _you_ be able to handle _me_?"

Liz punched him in the arm and took off running, with Takeshi following closely behind.  
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It wasn't until they reached the bottom landing of the tower, that Liz remembered that Mark and his crew were already working on the mechs.

"Damn it!"

What's up?"

"The mechs are being worked on, remember?"

Thinking, Takeshi looked down.

"No worries. If anything, this is good for you."

"Good for me?" Liz asked.

Smiling, Takeshi answered, "Spare you the humiliation of _losing_….to me."

Liz looked like she was ready to punch him in the face, but, instead, she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Takeshi asked her.

"Remembering how much of a dope you looked like when that chipmunk was on your head, but then again, you really don't need the chipmunk to make you look like one."

Takeshi fired back, "Nope, I got you."

Liz was ready to fire back, when she spotted the two reporters….again.

"Uh, we got company."

Takeshi turned to see the direction she was looking in, and sure enough, there were the reporters heading in their direction.

"How did they know we were here?"

"We passed a lot of people, maybe someone squealed," Liz replied, "Let's just get out of here."

"No."

"No?"

"No," Takeshi repeated, "Why should we? I mean, when have Team Satomi ever ran away from something?"

"Well, gee, let me think…"

"Liz, I'm being serious. I don't want to keep whatever we've got going on a secret; I don't want to keep…._us_ a secret. People are going to find out eventually, Liz; with our own words, let's tell them."

Reluctantly, Liz agreed.

"You sure about this?"

"Of course I'm sure, Liz. Think about it; if we don't do it now, they will be there tomorrow night."

"They will _always_ be there."

"I know, but hopefully, it won't be as bad as tonight."

"Dude, Fantine was right, you are naïve," Liz said.

"You can always walk out."

"As a famous wise man once said, _'I am never going to let go of you.'_

"You forgot to say ba…."

"I'M NOT GOING TO CALL YOU BABY!" Liz yelled.

Smiling mischievously, Takeshi replied, "You just did."

Liz blushed, but she took his hand, and together, they met the reporters halfway, who were more than eager to finally take their statements.  
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_Well, there you have it, end of this episode, **BUT DON'T WORRY, I WILL** **WRITE ANOTHER EPISODE**; the continuation of my fanfic storyline. I'm sorry this chapter is short, but I thought it would be nice to end it like this. I really want to keep writing more about the series, up to the point where we see the first race in the new season (in the year 2051)._

_**NEXT TIME ON IGPX: CHANCES**_


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